Scientists at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute are developing a new bot to roam the seas as it analyzes DNA.

Harmful algal blooms can turn normal-looking shellfish into toxic payloads that, if eaten, can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to death. This unseen danger unnerves shellfish growers and fisheries managers, who need to know immediately when and where to shut down fisheries to prevent illness. Now, with the help of a new autonomous underwater robot, researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) are one step closer to sniffing out ocean toxins and ensuring that safe seafood ends up on your plate.

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The Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) is a robotic molecular laboratory that allows scientists to remotely collect samples from the ocean and test them to see which species of algae is present and whether or not it is toxic. A rotating carousel loads a puck into the collection stage, where ocean water is collected and filtered to separate out the particles. The sample is then heated to dissolve the organic material and then transferred to a second puck containing DNA probes. Chemical reagents are injected into the puck and the puck is moved to a low-light imaging camera. The image captured is then transmitted to shore by a radio or cell phone network and analyzed by scientists.

The third generation model currently under development is smaller and simpler, allowing the device to be placed on a small autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). MBARI President and CEO Chris Scholin, whose group developed the ESP, says the challenge is to take the current model, which is the size of a double-wide garbage can, and make it fit into a space the size of a basketball. The estimated cost of developing the new model is $3 million to $5 million. Scholin says they plan to have as many as they can afford, expecting that MBARI will own a small fleet of about 5 bots. The machines would then become widely available, eventually resulting in an extensive network.

(c) 2010 MBARI

In July 2010, MBARI's Deep Environmental Sample Processor (d-ESP) was deployed on a ridge of carbonate rock about 800 meters below the sea surface, just seaward of Santa Monica Bay in Southern California.(c) 2010 MBARI

The long-range AUV that would carry the ESP device supports missions covering 1000 kilometers (621 miles) or more. Pairing the device with an AUV will enable it to travel through the water to sample at different depths as well as horizontally over large distances, says ESP collaborator Greg Doucette, a research oceanographer at NOAA's Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston, S.C.

Sensors on the new model will also enable researchers to map and track blooms by detecting changes in the environment such as pigments in the water associated with algae and adapting to those cues to chart a new course. "Ultimately, the aim is to have those sensors be able to track the algal populations," Doucette says.

The new model also can test for species and toxins simultaneously and recharge between tests, allowing it to collect more samples and ensure more accurate estimates of toxicity. The information collected is transmitted to shore in real-time or near real-time, and can then be put into models to forecast the potential for shellfish contamination. "We always talk about it being kind of analogous to the weather service and weather forecasts," Doucette says. "The accuracy and utility of the forecast depends on the data that is collected and input into that model."

Monitoring harmful algal blooms and their toxins isn't the only use for the ESP. The mobile lab could also be used as water quality indicators, looking for contaminants such as fecal coliform bacteria. While the process remains the same, the chemical reagents loaded into the device change between types of uses. "Think of it like a soda fountain," Scholin says. "You've got a variety of flavors, and so what you plug into the back end is what you can get out of the front end."

Another potential use for ESP is to study open ocean microbial ecology. Scholin says that though they are not directly related to public health, the microorganisms in the ocean play a huge role in maintaining habitability of our planet. He says MBARI has done a lot of work looking at these organisms and how they work in time and space, but that studying them is a challenge because the only way to do so is to get on a ship and go to sea. Scientists must then either process samples along the voyage or bring a litany of samples home to test later. ESP transforms that process. "Our whole thing is 'Put the laboratory into the ocean. Bring back data, not samples," Scholin says.

Remote data collection not only reduces time and costs, but it allows scientists to use that information when it matters most. "Hopefully in a year we'll be out there with the world's first mobile ecogenomics sensor," Scholin says. "I think that will be quite an accomplishment if we actually succeed."